Apparatus and method for brick-burning



UNITED stares Parent" or ice.

HENRY-O. ROBINSON, OF BROGKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND CHRISTOPHER STEAIL MAE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

,APPARATUS END METHOD FOR BRICK-BURNIN G.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

Application filed December 30, 1913. Serial No. 809,470.

burning clay products,.brick, and the like, by means of an induced or forced draft. in

our development of the forced draft system of burning brick, .we have discovered that, by providing means which will increase the draft up through thestack of brick or the like, brick can be burner in much less time and more uniformly than heretofore, and we are enabled to positively control the burning at all times by varying the extent of the forced draft delivered, securing a quicker burning and more uniform prodnot.

Our present invention contemplates burning brick in akiln,lby applying an artificial draft, which will stimulate the flow up through the stack and enable the heat con tained within the lower part of the stack to be forced, drawn, or blown upwardly throughout the upper tiers of the brick stack. Thus the upper tiers of the stack mayberburnedas quickly and evenly as the lower parhand the lower part of the stack is prevented ,from becoming overheated, burning intoa cinder, distorting the brick, or causing ".swellbrick, because excessive heatmay. be at once blown out and the lower part cooled. By suitably varying the forced draft atappropriate times the settling of the: entire stack and the burning is at all timeswunder control, and may bevaried at cacharch. By our inventiomwherein the heatis forced or blown throughout the extent of the brickstack in a kiln, we are enabled to utilize all the heat and besides shortening the total period of burning for the'kiln, and thus effecting a great saving in fuel, ourpresent process enables the heat to be. conserved by forcing it from onecompletely burned section, 6., the lower portion, into an incompletely burned portion,

2'. e., the upper part, thus completing the burning without the continued application of fuel through the already burned portion. This process also enables the clay to be mixed with a larger amount of inflammable or vegetable matter than has heretofore been possible, and to more completelyuburn out the same, thus providing. a considerable amount of fuel directlyin the brick and saving fuel in the arches.

A further featureof the inventionis the provision of removable forced draft apparatus, so that our improved system "may be applied to any ordinary kiln, and may be withdrawn from one kiln whentheflburning s completed and at once applied to another, but the apparatus is not herein specifically claimed, being the subject matter of our e6- pending application, Serial N 0. 11,880, filed March 3, 1915.

In carrying out the present invention, we preferably utilize a pipe, or pipes, which are positioned at each burning arch of a kiln,

.said pipes delivering the forced draftwithin the arch. S u .h artificial draft may be employed to initiate the draft up through the brick stack, and carry theheat entirely through the stack up to the top tiers, or

stimulate the combustion of the fire, either a coal, coke, wood, or (oil fire. Preferably we secure this forced draft by means of. a steam jet which notonly heats the draft, but also supplies a desirable tempering moisture. Vi e are enabled to control the heat through the entire stack in a variety of ways. Thus where the stack of brick is of green. brick, and it is desirable to first; dry it out, a. comparatively low fire in the arch may be maintained, and by the forced draft the heat therefrom is blown up through the entire stack. iVithout such forced draft, the slow fire would be unavailable to dry more than the lower portion of the stack. ,Thus the forced draft may be used to dryout the stack, slowly hardening it, ,and thena hard brick heat being supplied for ,twenty;four

or thirty hours, the fire may be slackened and increased forced draft applied, which will blow the heat from the lower part of the stack up through the entire upper tiers, simultaneously cooling the lower part and preventing too great burning as well-as avoiding the danger of swell brick inthe lower part of the stack. After the lower part of the stack has become thoroughly heated, the fire niay be entirely discontinued and the burning completed, especially in the upper part of the stack, by the application of the forced draft. This feature is of special importance, and is a distinct novelty in the art of brick burning. A further important feature of this invention is that we are enabled to mix a high degree of coaldust or other inflammable material with the brick and, by the forced draft which blows the heat up through the entire stack, burn out this inflammable materialin the brick, thereby greatly increasing the speed of kiln burning as well as providing a more uniformly burned product throughout the entire stack. Thus an excess of fuel supply can be put into the brick themselves, an this saves fuel in the arches, besides shortening the time for burning as just explained. Controlling the burning by this system also prevents the brick hardening too quickly on the outside and therefore stops any subsequent exploding of the gases within the brick. By having the forced draft applied through a pipe by means of a steam jet, both the steam and air are thoroughly mixed and a uniformity in the forced draft supplied is insured. Other features of the invention will be hereinafter more fully pointed out and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, which illustratean apparatus for carrying out our improved process,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of a portion of a brick kiln showing the burning arch;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side view of the arch with our removable pipe shown therein.

A brick stack 1 is shown provided with the usual burning arch openings 2, and in the base. of the burning arch we apply a pipe 3 having a plurality of openings 4: arranged at either side of the pipe near the bottom thereof. The pipe may rest directly upon the bottom of the arch, or in a slight depression below the arch, and will extend a short dis tance therein. We have found in a brick kiln of thirty-eight feet across that a pipe of approximately eight feet in length, extending within the arch from either opening, will be sufficient to supply the desired amount of forced draft to control the burning and blow the heat up throughout the entire extent of the stack. The inner end of the pipe 3 is closed at 5, and the outer end is supplied with an elbow 6 and a short connection! witha second elbow 8 carrying an upright portion 9 having its upper end open. A steam supply pipe 10 having a branch 11 adjacent each arch is provided with a suitable valve 12 in position to extend within the open end of the pipe 9, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Steam being admitted through the valve 12 into the pipe'9, entrains the air and creates the draft downwardly through the pipe 9 and into the horizontal pipe 8, forcing the combined air and steam or the gas caused by such combination of air and steam out through the holes 4. This forced draft can be accurately regulated by the supply of steam through the Valve 12. The steam, serving to heat the draft, will aid in initiating the draft up through the brick stack 1, and also will aid in stimulating combustion in the burning arch. Either oil, wood, coal, or other fuel can be utilized with equal facility, our improved apparatus being equally adaptable for either. Where coal and wood are used, the fire may be built directly upon the top of the. pipe 3, the supply of superheated steam within the pipe preventing the same from being burned out by the fire on top. The pipe 3 and its connections 6, 7, 8, and 9 being readily removable when the forced draft is no longer required in a particular arch and easily applied to other arches or a different kiln, enables a large plant to be run with a minimum number of these devices. Tt will be understood that the control of the draft supplied to each arch and to each end of each arch is controllable at will through the separate valves 12. This feature is of special importance, as it enables the burning adjacent eacharch to be positively and absolutely under control at all times, irrespective of the condition adjacent the other arches. Thus, in a twenty foot arch kiln, there are forty separately controlled valves and connecting draft pipes, one at each end of each arch and as the burning progresses one part of the kiln may be retarded, another held normal and the other portions excessively forced, precisely proportional to the conditions of the clay to produce the best results; This feature is a distinctly novel process in kiln burning, and we therefore claim the same broadly.

An important feature of the invention is that the plurality of openings 4 are protected from cinders, clinkers, etc., when coal, coke,'or the like is used, enabling the pipe openings to be kept free so that the forced draft of combined air and steam flows therethrough and spreads out into the arch. This is accomplished by guarding the openings, asby having the openings 4 arranged on the under side of the pipe 3, the air flowing around the overhanging sides of the pipe, although a guard or deflectorin front of separate blast outlets could be utilized if desired. Furthermore, the pressure in the pipe 3 enables as great a supply of the forced draft at the inner end 5 of the pipe as at the opening of the arch, and the pressure supplies a continuous flow around the sides of the pipe 3 upwardly into the fire along the two lines, thus tending to stimulate combustion evenly and throughout the entire extent of the arch. N0 iron grate is requisite above'the pipe 3, when using coal, coke, wood, or the like, as the fire may be built directly on top of the pipe 3, although it may be desired to fill in the sides of the arch level with the top of the pipe by cinders, clinkers, or the like through which the draft may find its way from the holes 4} up into the fire. When oil is supplied for fuel it is feasible to shut ofi the fuel and convey the forced draft directly through the same pipes if desired.

While we prefer to supply forced draft below the fire so as also to control the combustion of fuel, it is entirely feasible to supply the forced draft above the fire to blow or force the heat up through the stack, and to complete the burning, particularly the burning of the top portion of the stack, as well as to prevent too fast burning of the lower portion, by forcing the heat from the lower portion upwardly through the stack of brick. With the forced draft supply below the fire in the arch, as shown in the drawings in our preferred form, the pipe for such draft is not burned out, is entirely out of the way of the door for feeding fuel into the arch, and may take the place of a grate, as well as more fully controlling the combustion of the fuel itself.

Vhile we have explained the carrying out of our present process by means of the application of forced draft, utilizing a head of steam to supply said draft, it will be readily understood that the employment of blowers to create an artificial draft either by forcing or suction may be utilized, having suitable means to enable the draft to be varied as desired, and thus to control the heat supplied to the brick, and to force the heat from one part of the brick stack to another.

The steam provides a desirable temper to the forced draft, and while such temper is desirable, it is not essential. By means of our improved process the kiln burning is at all times under perfect control, and the brick made more uniform than heretofore, a great saving in fuel is effected, and the time required for such burning may be shortened by one or two days less than was formerly necessary, with a consequent saving in attendance, together with a correspondingly increased capacity of output for a plant using our process. Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The improved process of burning brick in a kiln, which consists in first supplying a relatively low fire and forcing the heat therefrom by artificial draft throughout the entire stack, then applying a hard brick heat to the kiln for approximately twentyfour to thirty-six hours, then forcing the heat within the lower part of the stack upwardly throughout the upper tiers by the application of artificial draft, then continuing the supply of heat until the burning of the lower part of the stack of brick is completed, and then completing the burning of the upper part of the stack by blowing out the heat from the lower part into said upper part.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY O. ROBINSON. CHRISTOPHER STEADMAN. \Vitnesses WALTER Huns'r, MARK X. BAURING. 

